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New york socialite1/22/2024 ![]() ![]() ![]() If you were invited to her annual ball - thrown on the third Monday in January - you were decidedly ‘in’, if you weren't - you were ‘out’. Here, Tatler brings you a guide to the women who inspired these characters, from the warring Queen Bees who kept trying to out-do each other with their 5th Avenue mansions moving further and further uptown, to the most glamorous debutantes and dollar princesses.įirmly in the Old Money corner was Caroline Schermerhorn Astor, (known as simply the Mrs Astor), who was the gate-keeper to New York high society for four decades. This tension forms the basis of the central plot in Julian Fellowes's drama, The Gilded Age, portraying these warring factions from the point of view of Marian Brook (played by Oscar-winner Meryl Streep's daughter, Louisa Jacobson) a newcomer to the social scene whose guiding lights are her Old Money aunts, whose lives are at odds with her New Money friends. Now, the merchant class were mixing with New York royalty, buying up the best houses, marrying their daughters to the most eligible bachelors, and sending their children to the finest schools. As these so-called nouveau riche emerged into society, they inevitably found themselves confronted with the rancour and jealousy of the existing upper echelons, whose wealth could be traced back generations. The industrial revolution of the late 19th century led to an explosion in the middle classes, with the likes of railroad men and construction tycoons suddenly becoming extremely rich. In amendments to Astor’s will, which she signed after she began suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, Marshall was given tens of millions of dollars and valuable real estate, acts that prosecutors cited in bringing the fraud charges.Īt trial, Marshall’s lawyers countered that Astor voluntarily made changes to her will, signing over the bulk of the money to her son after deciding late in life that she wanted Marshall and his third wife, Charlene Marshall, to be comfortable financially.Old Money vs New Money, Old World vs New World: the Gilded Age was a time of seismic change in New York society. A jury convicted the frail and tired-looking Marshall in October 2009 of grand larceny, falsifying business reports and other charges. Those details another others that were equally unseemly came out as Marshall, now 87, went to trial on charges he looted his mother’s estate. Marshall’s own son, among others, said Astor was made to sleep on a couch stained with dog urine. The settlement will cut Marshall’s inheritance to $14.5 million, less than half of the amount he stood to receive with the death of his mother, who he was accused of keeping in squalid conditions in her final years. The deal was approved on Wednesday by the Westchester County Surrogate’s Court. Among the issues in dispute is whether her 2002 will or another version should be used. Astor’s final wishes and benefits New York’s landmark educational and cultural institutions.”Īstor family members, friends and former staffers will also receive their shares of the inheritance with the deal, which was based on a will dating from 2002. “I am pleased that my office led the way to an agreement that honors Mrs. “Brooke Astor was at the center of New York philanthropy for nearly half a century,” Schneiderman said in a statement. Other major beneficiaries include the New York Public Library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and funds that will funnel millions to Central Park, Brooklyn’s Prospect Park and playgrounds around the city. The settlement, announced by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, sets aside $30 million to establish a new education fund that will make grants aimed at improving New York City education. The agreement ends a dispute over Astor’s fortune raging since her death in 2007 at age 105, one that brought to light ugly details about the high-society family and eventually resulted in the fraud conviction of Astor’s only son, Anthony Marshall. ![]() Thomas Church in New York August 17, 2007. Pallbearers carry the casket of New York socialite and philanthropist Brooke Astor after a funeral service at St. ![]()
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